Today we’re joining our friends at 2 Brown Dawgs blog for This ‘N That Thursday. You know some days you have a little of this, or a little of that? Anything goes! Many thanks to our friends at 2 Brown Dawgs Blog for this awesome blog hop.
Courtesy of 2 Brown Dawgs Blog
Back to our old stomping grounds:
Tuesday Sampson had an appointment at the vet’s for one of his cold laser treatments. Since it was a six o’clock appointment I asked Hubby to walk Delilah and after the appointment Sampson and I ventured over to our old stomping grounds at the local community college.
The college has a really lovely biking/walking path, in fact before we moved to our current house, Sampson and I used to walk there just about every day.
Most of the pictures turned out blurry because let’s face it; it’s damn hard to take a picture when you’re being tugged down a path by an 87 pound dog.
I should have thought to bring some water because poor Butter was hot. Don’t worry, I blasted the air once we got in the car.
I love walking with both my dogs, but it was nice to have just some Sampson and me time in a place that has some wonderful memories.
Branding:
Do you know what your brand is? I sure the hell don’t.
Julie explains it like this, “Branding is the story, image and personality of your blog, your blog’s soul. It’s what people think about when your blog comes to mind.”
Try as I might I can’t figure out just what this blog does consistently. When I think what I want this blog to represent I want it to be a place people come to for support, comfort, humor, encouragement. How do you ‘brand’ that?
It’s left me pretty down in the dumps trying to figure this out. I mean, I can look at someone else’s blog and make suggestions to them, I just can’t do it with my own. I thought maybe you could help me.
So tell me my friends. What do you think about when you hear “Heart Like a Dog?” Do you have any insights for me?
Follow-Up Friday
I woke up at about 4 this morning and realized with a start, that I had no one scheduled to co-host with me this week. Thankfully, I’m blessed to count some incredible bloggers as my friends and I’m super pleased to let you know that once again the Amazing Flea will be co-hosting Follow-Up Friday tomorrow.
Tune in folks, same bat time, same bat channel.
Don’t take this wrong as Mom and I love your blog, but since that snake last week, Mom is a bit afraid to look at your posts (she does but first she makes sure there are no snake pics) and when she thinks of your blog, she thinks first of the snake and second about the calendar contest. I tell you, snakes do a number on her even in photos or on TV! After that what comes to mind is “dog life”. You post about every day life with dogs, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes to make a point, but dog life is how we would sum it up.
Thanks Emma, I’m sorry that I scared Mom. I never meant to. I don’t like snakes either, I just thought it was a funny story.
Hi Y’all!
I’m a dog, I write about dog stuff…I don’t worry about anything else…especially not a brand. I must say, though, when I see your blog “pop up” on the “frequent” sites, I think of Sampson and Delilah and wonder what y’all are “up to”…so I hike on over!
As for carrying water…living in the southeastern U.S., my Human never, ever takes me anywhere without water. There is always an emergency half gallon in the car plus at least 4 small bottles which keep the water in my crate refilled or can be carried when we take a walk. Even with my crate fan blowin’ and the air conditionin’ blastin’, on a hot day it isn’t exactly cool, even in a moving vehicle.
Sorry, I’m no help at all, am I?
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
My blog is all about me. 100% me, me, me. And a little bit about Mom and her writing work. But still 110% about ME. And about how I’m not too good at math….
Love and licks,
Cupcake
When I think of YOUR BLOG… I think FUN FURENDS and Helping Paws. Don’t know if OTHERS see those as good Brand Words, butt WE surely do. WE wouldn’t Change a thingy… not even the SNAKE Posts… hehehehehe.
PeeS.. you weigh 87 pounds??? WOW!!!
Well I certainly didn’t mean to cause MORE stress for you!!
When I think of you and your blog – I think of a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is dog lover that always has something interesting to say and is also trying to learn how to have a heart like a dog.
Don’t overcomplicate it! But you’re right – it is always easier to be on the outside looking in 😉 Don’t worry – I’ve gotcha covered!!
To me the fun of a blog is that we don’t have to worry about consistency or a brand. We can write what we want. Sometimes I write on a serious topic and sometimes a humorous one because that’s what dogs are. You share the joy you have in being with your dogs and that is all the branding you really need.
When I think of your blog – I know that most of the time, it’s going to make me laugh. 🙂
I don’t take my blog too seriously – to me this is just an outlet to talk “dogs” with others who share my love of them.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it if I were you – you have a good deal of “traffic” and we all love your blog!! 🙂
I also don’t worry about a “brand”, I think overly focusing on that takes away from what you (or we) do on a daily basis. I don’t want to be a “brand”. That being said, I think developing an “elevator pitch” for when you meet companies is something that is important.
I think you said it best here ” When I think what I want this blog to represent I want it to be a place people come to for support, comfort, humor, encouragement.” that is your elevator pitch….and….your mission is right in the title of your blog, right before your eyes. You write with a “heart of a dog”….dogs are known for being loving, funny, enthusiastic, eager, excited, comforting….you get it……..that’s your blog
Just for the record….I moved on with the snake too lol…..someone else showed snakes recently and I did the same with them. Just post a “snake warning” at the beginning of the blog and we’re all good 🙂
Thanks so much for joining TNT! LOL I guess your week got away from you like mine did from me. I hope someday soon to be all caught up!
I like your blog. I like that you have random stories now and again. Mostly they make me laugh and other times they make me think. You have a really casual way of writing. Like you are speaking to a friend, rather than writing a blog. That is a very good quality in my book. I have never been into brands so I can’t help you there. 🙂
Sometimes I think my blog is a bit too regimented. I have 4 of my 5 days posting scheduled with hops. I can only vary the format on Tuesday which may not be enough for me. But I like the hops I participate in and I always have something to say that relates to them, so maybe that is OK too. We will see…
It’s great that you had some one on one time with sweet Sampson. Nice to walk through your memories once more too, I bet. 🙂
As for branding, I’m kind of glad that you don’t fit into just one category. I enjoy a lot of dog blogs, but the ones that are my favorites are generally the ones that I DON’T know what I’m going to find each time I visit them. (You know, after a while people get sick of hearing the same thing over and over again, like all of your dogs are sick, or that sort of thing. 😉 )
Keep doing what you’re doing, and for godsakes, don’t be bummed over it. You’re doing a damn good job. 🙂
When i see your blog pop up…i tune in…because i know it will make me laugh…even the snake…your insight should be…just what you said….”SO TELL ME MY FRIENDS”. Its always a place i can relate and ask questions or advice if i need it…keep up the good work
I don’t know flip about branding and don’t know how I would “brand” your blog, but Julie, Caren, and Donna all three said things that I was going to say.
What I love about your blog is that it’s a blog the way blogs were meant to be. You write like you’re talking to a friend. You’re down-home, down-to-earth, funny, witty, and just tell things like they are. In the old days, when people very first started blogging, blogs were simply online journals… there was no monetization, no commercialization, no one worried about branding or anything like that. But back then, there weren’t a jillion blogs to be competing with. Not that blogging is a competition, but everyone wants readers. Even if a blog isn’t monetized in any way, a person still wants visitors. But a blogger can still have that with no branding and no “commercialization” of any sort. A successful blog requires three things – content that keeps readers coming back (CHECK – you have that), content good enough to share (CHECK – you have that), and reader engagement (CHECK – you have that too). I’m new to blogging and still working on the first two of those. My blog is monetized, but only because I hoped to make a little dough for rescue.
I remember a while back you mentioned that you’d like to have a new tagline, and I think that’s a good idea… but damn if I can come up with a good one that really fits your blog.
Like others say, keep doing what you’re doing, ‘cuz you’re doing a damn fine job of it and we all love reading here. Your blog is just enjoyable… comfortable. It’s like sitting down for a cup a coffee with your best friend. You know… that one friend that’s the most comfortable, fun friend in the whole world… the one that farts in public and embarrasses the sh*t out of you but you both laugh and you’re secretly glad that she’s so laid-back. Yeah, reading your blog is like spending time with that friend.
As you know, I recently changed my header and came up with a tagline for my blog. It’s hard to sum your blogging life up in a few words, but when I think of your blog, I think of “The dog blog with humor and heart.”
We always have to carry water for Rita. With her thick, black coat she gets hot even when the temp is not too bad. She’s good at drinking out of a water bottle!
I love your blog and they are right i think of you as a no nonsence person that says how it is. i think you have a heart of gold that goes along with heart like a dog. keep doing what you are doing.
I only started visiting recently after I discovered Follow-up Friday. If I see heartlikeadog, the first things I think of are Dogs of Blogville and Follow-up Friday. I think that kind of a community interaction is pretty strong branding for you. 🙂
I don’t know my friend, this branding things confuses me too. When I think of your blog I kinds of think of a friendly place to be, kind of like Cheers. a place where everybody knows your name and you can be yourself and I’m always glad I came. 🙂
When I think of your blog, I know that I will find some humor, some heart and some inspiration. To me, that’s what Heart Like A Dog represents. I love that you don’t take yourself too seriously and that you’re not afraid to speak your mind.
What do YOU want to accomplish with your blog? I think if you ponder that, it might help you to decide where you want the blog to go. One of my goals is to make everyone wish they had a Greyhound of their own, and to include their dogs in their daily lives. I hope that we can inspire people in those ways, as well as having fun along the way. Does that help?
Yay for one-on-one time! With two dogs and two different personalities, it’s nice to be able to focus on just one once in a while. Pierson’s one-on-one time is agility while Maya’s is cuddling.
Branding? I’m great at that with the pet auto safety blog. But my American dog blog is all over the place. I actually have more fun with it, though, because my dog topics aren’t as restricted.
Okay, so what’s all this fuss about “branding”? Just keep doing what you’ve been doing and don’t worry about it. I can see from everyone else’s comments that they feel the same way I do….look forward to the email each morning that says you’ve shared another blog post with me.
Over the past year, I’ve found a new friend who appears to share many of the same values, beliefs, etc., and one with a very similar sense of humor. I hope that we do get to meet face-to-face one day … I have a feeling it’ll be like we’ve known each other all our lives.
I love what Jackie said….“The dog blog with humor and heart.” I also agree with what Emma said about “dog life” coming to my mind when I think of your blog.
I will go a little against what most people said and say that branding is important. It’s what you want people to think of when they think of your blog. It’s what they know they will get consistently from you…which allows them to refer you to other people for a specific thing. It’s what companies “know you as” and helps them to decide if you and they are a good fit. Having a brand helps you to put a focus on your writing. For example, by brand is outdoor adventure – specifically hiking – so most everything I write about is written from that perspective and through that lens.
That being said, “down-home, no nonsense advice and musings on dog ownership” IS a brand. I don’t think you need to go any further than that unless you want to.